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House Republicans, including members of the GOP leadership, appear surprisingly eager to roll back the clock and un-impeach Donald Trump, “expunging” the former president’s punishments from the record. That’s bizarre, but it coincides with a related effort: Republicans don’t just want to undo earlier impeachments, they’re also open to counterbalancing those moves with new impeachments of their own.
Politico reported late yesterday:
It’s not just DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas or (less likely) President Joe Biden: Speaker Kevin McCarthy sounded ready this morning for a potential impeachment drive for AG Merrick Garland over the IRS/Hunter Biden story. “If it comes true what the IRS whistleblower is saying, we’re going to start impeachment inquiries on the attorney general,” McCarthy said on “Fox & Friends.”
The on-air comments came a day after the House Republican leader initially signaled a willingness to open an impeachment inquiry into the attorney general as part of the party’s fixation on a Trump-appointed prosecutor and his criminal case against the president’s son.
All of this comes just days after House Republicans were unanimous in their support for a measure that referred an impeachment resolution targeting President Biden to two committees.
White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt noted yesterday that while Biden and his team focus on economic and kitchen-table issues, it’s become difficult to “keep track of who MAGA Republicans say they’re going to impeach at this point.”
That’s true, though I think I can help — because I have been keeping track. Let’s take a look at the big list:
President Joe Biden: The incumbent Democrat hasn’t actually committed any high crimes, but as of this morning, there are literally five different impeachment resolutions pending in the House targeting the sitting president.
Attorney General Merrick Garland: It's not just McCarthy: Several other GOP lawmakers raised the prospect of impeaching the nation’s chief law enforcement official, long before the recent Hunter Biden news. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced a pending impeachment resolution against Garland a while ago, as did Rep. Scott Perry, who also unveiled a similar resolution against the attorney general.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: There are currently two impeachment resolutions targeting the DHS secretary, and the cabinet agency recently hired outside counsel to prepare for potential impeachment proceedings.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken: For reasons that remain fuzzy, Republican Rep. Ralph Norman introduced an impeachment resolution last summer targeting the nation’s chief diplomat. Rep. Dave Schweikert also raised the specter of impeaching Blinken.
Vice President Kamala Harris: Believe it or not, Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert introduced an impeachment resolution targeting Harris — I can’t begin to understand why — and it picked up two co-sponsors. GOP Rep. Andy Olges introduced a separate measure of his own targeting Harris.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg: A handful of congressional Republicans have endorsed impeaching Buttigieg, though formal resolutions have not yet been introduced.
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona: Though this effort apparently hasn’t moved beyond the discussion phase, Cardona is now apparently in the mix. The New York Times reported last fall that “some” GOP lawmakers would like to impeach the education secretary.
FBI Director Chris Wray: Schweikert also made behind-the-scenes comments suggesting the FBI director handpicked by Donald Trump might face some kind of impeachment threat, and soon after, Greene introduced an impeachment resolution targeting Wray, which has picked up a half-dozen GOP co-sponsors.
Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia: Greene, apparently upset about criminal cases against accused Jan. 6 defendants, has also introduced an impeachment resolution going after the federal prosecutor. (It has four Republican co-sponsors.)
Taken together, the list now includes the sitting president, sitting vice president, five cabinet secretaries, the director of the FBI, and a largely unknown federal prosecutor.
The only time in American history that a cabinet secretary was impeached was in 1876, when the House impeached Secretary of War William Belknap — after he left office — over alleged bribes. (He was later acquitted by senators.) Will this be the Congress that adds to the list? Watch this space.
This post revises our related earlier coverage.